Computer users sometimes use wizards to assist them when performing a series of tasks. One example of such a wizard can be utilized during an installation of a software application. The wizard may appear as a pop-up window, and include queries and instructions designed to guide a user through the installation process in a defined sequence of steps. At each step, the user may be prompted to enter information, after which the user may select a button that causes the wizard to advance to the next step in the sequence. When the wizard reaches a final step of the sequence, the user may be asked to select a “finish” button, the process may conclude, and the wizard may disappear.
While wizards can be effective for simple tasks that have a defined sequence of steps, they may not be effective for complex step sequences where dynamic decision-making is needed. While using a wizard, the user may not realize how the process steps relate to one another because the wizard may not apprise the user of positional relationships between the sequence steps. Wizards may not be able to satisfactorily display alternative process steps to the user. Wizards also may not be able to satisfactorily display the existence of conditional process steps to the user. Some wizards are also restrictive by not allowing the user to select a process step directly.